That's an awful lot of free money being passed out by a government that is desperately trying to balance its budget by taking away sick leave from low level civil servants!

Add that to the sundry other promises made in the Middle East over the past few months and Harper has easily made a quarter billion dollars worth of commitments in that neighbourhood.

The think tank here at Falling Downs has a somewhat contrarian view of this largess.

While it is a noble goal to ease the suffering of the Syrians who have been displaced by the conflict in their country, why not leave that job to our friends in the Gulf states who have been financing the conflict in Syria? Qatar and Saudi Arabia have billions to keep the Syrian fires burning; perhaps they should step up and commit a few hundred million to looking after the victims of the mess they have created.

That would free up Canadian cash to look after a few pressing needs in Big Steve's neighbourhood.

Things like clean water for the hundreds of First Nations communities that don't have that luxury.

Affordable housing for the tens of thousands of Canadians on waiting lists that stretch a decade or more into the future.

Job training for the million and a half unemployed Canadians who need it.

Tuition forgiveness for the tens of thousands of Canadian young people graduating with crippling student loans and no job prospects.

That's just a start, Mr. Harper. Plenty of needs right here at home. I know it's nice to strut about on the big stage blowing smoke about freedom and democracy and punching above our weight, but there's a job to be done.